A long-standing and familiar building on Main Street in Altavista is set to be demolished.
Fat Katz is the last reincarnation of a beer and wine joint that started life in 1938 as a gas station. In 1955, Pappy Burgess opened the building as Bar 29. It was then changed to Blues in the 1960s, Rocky’s in the 1990s and Troll’s in 2000, before it once again opened as Blues in 2006.
Sam and Katrina Jones opened Fat Katz Sports Bar and Grill in 2008. The business featured two bars, a handful of tables, a pool table and live music. The menu included everything from hot dogs to rib eyes, but the hot wings were the specialty.
“We always wanted to own a bar,” said Katrina Jones, who the bar was named after. “We knew the owner of the building and wanted to give it a go.”
The building has been bought by Dominion Power in order to create a turn lane into its plant off Wood Lane.
“It’s sad the only place in town to have an ice cold beer in town is closing,” said Sam Jones.
The owner of the building was approached by the power company about purchasing part of the land to create the turn lane. However, after negotiations, the owner decided to sell the building and the land to the company. The property is owned by Danny Goff Properties LLC.
“It was shocking. He came to us and told us he was planning to sell part of the land and then he came back and told us they agreed to his price and he was going to sell,” she said. “I’m not mad that he sold; it was just surprising.”
That began the short time for the bar to be cleaned out before the sale of the property was finalized.
“It was definitely short notice,” added Katrina Jones, who also works for the city of Lynchburg as a water meter reader. “It was sad to know it was closing.”
On their last Solo Cup night, the sadness of the evening prompted regular patron Cheryl Dudley to say goodbye in a unique way. She took a black marker and wrote a thank you note on the walls of the bathroom. This inspired other patrons to also write notes of thanks and say their goodbyes on the walls. The walls ended up with hundreds of handwritten goodbyes, said Katrina Jones.
“It was really touching to see all the kind words people had to say,” she said.
While the bar is closed and the building is scheduled for demolition, their dream of owning a bar is not shut down, only on hold.
“We are regrouping and looking for a place to reopen,” she said. “Right now all of the stuff is in our garage. We hope to have a new place opened in a year.”
The couple has looked at a few properties in the area, but has yet to find a place that suits their needs.
The town is losing more than a local watering hole, which has been open on and off for many years; it is losing a place for friends and family to enjoy each other.
“Everyone here became our family,” Katrina Jones said. “It is so sad to know that there isn’t another place like this in town.”
“I really enjoyed getting to know the people,” Sam Jones said.
“I want to thank everyone; they were the most wonderful people,” she added.